scussion, is,
that "the party insuring upon a life must have an interest in the life
insured." Great latitude has been given in the construction of the law
as to this point; the declaration of a real, subsisting interest being
all that is required by the underwriters. In fact, the offices are
constantly taking insurances where the interest is upon a contingency
which may very shortly be determined, and if the parties choose to
continue the policy, _bona fide_, after the interest ceases, they never
meet with any difficulty in recovering. So also offices frequently grant
policies upon interests so slender that, although it may be difficult to
deny some kind of interest, it is such as a court of law would scarcely
recognize. This practice of paying upon policies without raising the
question of interest is so general, that it has even been allowed in
courts of law.

The great advantages derived from life assurance are proved by its rapid
progress, both in Great Britain and the United States, after its
principles had once been fully explained. As already stated, the first
society for the general assurance of life was the Amicable, founded in
1706; but, most unreasonably, its rates of premium were made uniform for
all ages assured; nor was any fixed amount guaranteed in case of death.
Hence very little was done; and it was not until 1780 that the business
of life assurance may be said to have fairly begun. Since then,
companies have been formed from time to time, so that at present there
are in Great Britain some two hundred in active operation, and the
amount assured upon life is estimated at more than L200,000,000.

In America, the first life-assurance company open to all was the
Pennsylvania, established in 1812. And though many others, devoted in
whole or in part to this object, were formed in the interim, so little
pains was taken to inform the public upon the system, that in 1842 the
amount assured probably did not exceed $5,000,000. But, in a Christian
country, all material enterprises go swiftly forward, and of late years
the progress of life assurance has equalled that of railroads and
telegraphs; so that there are in the United States at least fifty
companies, which are disbursing in claims, chiefly to widows and
orphans, about five millions of dollars annually.

With this large extension of business, the fundamental principles of
life assurance are now universally agreed on; but, in carrying them out,
there are